About Me

I'm a fifty-something male, born and raised in Virginia. Finally found my soul mate at the age of forty three after 2 strike outs and some ugly trips to the plate. I love to play golf, pool, the guitar and poker. I've also become a cyclist. I also love to make things out of wood. I'm currently employed as a sales training director for a health care distributor. I have four kids at various stages of life and plenty of good friends. I also have some friendly acquaintances that are part of my life, too. Sometimes, it's funny and sometimes it's sad but it's always entertaining. And I'm very glad to be here enjoying it.
Why this blog? Well, I'm happier with my life than I've been since I was about 8 years old and I'd like to tell others why just in case they decide they'd like to be that happy, too.

Friday, September 27, 2013

Last weekend, MB and I got to ride in a wonderful event that
is the only fundraiser for the Richmond Area Bike Associate – the Heart of VA
Bike Festival. Here’s a quick ride
report!

The Seasons are a changing…

It seems that worst of the heat is behind us. I can’t
complain, it was a relatively cool summer for Richmond. We had very few days
where it got to 100 and the humidity wasn’t overbearing, either, most of the
time.

Weather for this ride was over-the-top beautiful! The
temperature was 50 at the start time and never got much above 76. Skies were
mostly clear with a few, large puffy white clouds here and there. These temps
have decided to stick around for a few weeks, too, and I’ve been enjoying my
riding time whenever I can.

Pick a distance

We decided to do a metric half-century for this ride, one of
the two shortest distances available. For those of you who are metrically
challenged, that 50 kilometers or about 31 miles. There were plenty of folks
riding the full century (100 miles) along with the metric century but I’d
venture a guess that a third of participants rode our distance.

What’s great about this distance is that it’s short enough
that nearly everyone can finish if you take your time, long enough to feel as
if you’ve accomplished something and, most importantly, finishes just as lunch
is being served at the after party!

The Start

The scheduled starting time was 9:00 am and we arrived in
time to check in, unload, hit the rest room, and line up with the other 150 or
so riders. We strategically stopped about two thirds of the way back through
the field so we wouldn’t be leading the group at the start; I get nervous with
all those riders in a pack, not knowing who can handle their bike and who
can’t.

At the go signal, we headed out to the road, past a fife and
drum team that was playing each group off at the start. It was a really cool way to start the ride!

Sorry for the poor pic!

Speaking of Cool

I was bloody freezing! I had dressed for mid-day
temperatures so 50 degrees felt very chilly as we headed down the road. The
first couple of miles descended a long, slow grade that was almost entirely
shaded and this coupled with 18 miles per hour had my goose bumps in full
bloom. (At the start, we’d been in full sun and I wondered if it was going to
feel this good all day. Yeah, no!)

Suddenly, MB sped up to about 25; I had to push hard to
catch up to her wheel. When I asked what
she was doing, all I heard was, “I’m trying to get warm!” as she pounded the
pedals. By the time we turned off the main road at the 2.5 mile mark, I was
pretty sure we were leading the ride.

The ride wound along going in and out of the sun and we
finally began to warm up.

That’s when the first hill appeared.

It wasn’t very long, probably half a kilometer or so, but it
was steep. I kept up my normal rhythm and climbed nearly to the top when I
realized that MB was no longer in my mirror. I pulled over and stopped to wait
as a friend of mine crawled past saying, “This is a damn cruel way to wake up!”

After a couple of minutes, I spied MB walking her bike.
She’d been unable to get into a comfortable gear in time and decided discretion
was the better part of valor. We remounted our bikes and continued on,
comfortably pulling up the rear, now.

Absolutely Gorgeous!

For the next hour and a quarter, we wound our way through
two lane blacktop roads of several rural counties, passing cornfields, and
pastures filled with livestock. It was so simple to just ride along enjoying
the views, which were very pastoral, and taking advantage of the perfect
weather. We chatted with each other and with other riders along the way.

At about the halfway point, we pulled into the SAG station
to refill bottles and grab some snacks. Everyone seemed to have a smile on
their face. It was as if we’d all gotten into someone’s stash and imbibed
during the rides so that no one looked or acted grumpy. It was such a Zen day
for all the riders that I’m guessing everyone would have gladly ridden farther
than they’d initially signed up for, so that it wouldn’t end.

After the break, we remounted and headed off for the second
half of the ride which was more of the same although one four mile stretch was
the absolute frosting on the cake.

It began with a turn off a slightly busier road (we’d been
on it for less than a quarter mile but more cars had passed than the rest of
the ride combined) and wound back and forth before coming out of a grove of
trees. The view opened to an expanse of farm fields, several miles across, with
this two lane blacktop that we were riding, wandering back and forth for as far
as you could see. It was a false flat so that the road and field rose up in
front of us but the rise was so gradual that it didn’t feel like we were
working very hard, at all. There was a
group of four of us riding together at this point, and we all kept talking
about what a great sight it was; one of those amber-waves-of-grain moments that
you see on a bike.

At the end of the last field, the road turned to the right
and went back into trees and gently downhill. We coasted for about a half mile,
hitting 30 mph with no effort before reaching flatter ground. MB and I, both, had the same thought during
that section, something like, “this is going to suck when we have to climb up
the other side of this” but it never came.
Evidently, that long false flat had been the climb to get to this point.
Road riding bliss!

On to the Finish

The rest of the ride had us winding our way back to the
county seat of Hanover, passing some small houses and some poorer sections,
too. This is eye opening to me as I never feel as if I see this part of life
from inside a moving car. On a bike, though, it burns its way into my brain and
I find myself wondering who those people are, what’s their story……

We made the last turn back onto the main road and into the
courthouse complex, passing the tent that was setup for lunch. Nothing was
being served yet so we headed to the car, hung the bikes and cleaned up in the
restroom before sitting down to a delicious BBQ lunch….with cookies! There was
also a five piece jazz band playing a soft groove while we ate. Nice finish to
the ride!

Another Gran Fondo this way comes!

The Martin’s Tour of Richmond is scheduled for October 5th
and features a 106 mile timed ride around the entire Richmond region, finishing
at the Richmond International Raceway. There are also 66 and 30 mile rides
available. What’s really cool this year is the organizers have taken feedback
from last year’s participants and will be having the riders take a lap around
the NASCAR track as a finish to the ride!

Look! It's a lap around a city!

The ride is slightly longer this year, by about 4 miles, due to some bridge renewal work that is taking place in Hanover county. I knew this was going to happen as it's on one of my regular routes; just the same, that extra 4 miles is not fun as it's adding another climb into the ride. Dammit.

If you’re within a couple of hours of Richmond and like to
ride a bike, I recommend you come join us. This is a terrific course, huge
crowd is expected, the support is top notch with coverage from the law
enforcement to keep it safe and there will be people applauding the riders all
along the course. It’s just awesome!

I rode the century last year and plan to do so again
although I’m not as prepared as I’d like to be; I’m jammed up with the work for
the last two weeks before it and won’t get as much riding in as I’d like. But, it doesn’t matter though.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

I
knew it was coming, as we all do, and was feeling kind of hopeful that this
year, maybe things would be different.

But
they aren’t. Even if I don’t watch a TV or don’t go to the internet, I can
still see the horrible scenes playing out in my mind’s eye. As if it happened last week, instead of a
dozen years ago. I’m struggling today, as I seem to more every year, and need
to write about it. I don’t know if I’ll post this or not.

The
Victims

I
can’t comprehend, not for a moment, what the innocent had to endure. I can’t
understand how their loved ones, suddenly being without, manage to go on. I
hope they are able to find solace in the time that’s elapsed.

MB
and I were in NYC last year and made the trek down to the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero in lower Manhattan. It
affected me in a way that nothing else ever has. I didn’t know a single person that perished
that day and yet, I felt a connection to them…a very powerful connection. I
have no explanation for it, I only acknowledge it. I’m hoping I’ll understand
it, someday.

The
First Responders

They
reacted and ran into hell, as they had been trained to do. Their task was to save as many as they could.
Instead, so many joined the victims in leaving this life. Those that remain
bear an incredible burden, wondering what they could have done differently,
wondering why they were spared.

I
can only thank all of them, inadequately, for their sacrifices and their giving
to all of us. What they do is the best of humankind.

We
Will Never Forget

This
phrase means different things to people. In the days shortly after the attacks,
it became almost a rallying cry, a battle cry, for many. There was a great deal of posturing, chest
puffing about how “we’ll show those crazies not to mess with the USA!” The
result of this has been two incredibly expensive, long lasting, drawn out wars,
resulting in so many deaths and helping to contribute to the financial
difficulties of the entire world, too. (Don’t misunderstand me. I was right
there, in favor of getting our pound of flesh, too. But after eleven years of
this, I’m kind of tired of it. Actually, I’m really tired of it. I keep
thinking everyone is.)

Others
thought about how important it was to keep the victims and their families in
our thoughts. “They’ll need our help, let’s remember to provide for those who
made the sacrifices.”

Still
others took another meaning from the phrase. “Those who forget the past are
destined to repeat it.” We must remain vigilant to keep it from happening
again.

This has resulted in stories about how our freedoms are being violated
on a daily basis by our own government in the name of security. As a result, we
seem to be discovering how much we’re willing to tolerate in order to keep the
peace. Like most people, I’m only
willing to tolerate so much…unless, of course, we’re attacked again. Then,
folks will be asking why more wasn’t done to protect our country and our “freedom.”

What
it means to me

Recently,
I’ve seen some really horrible things written and/or broadcast about “the Muslims
being responsible for all of this.”

This
is where I start to lose my mind.

Many
of the people saying these things identify themselves as Christians. If you
lived in another country, and read about the activities of the Westboro Baptist
Church, who also identify as Christian, would you then think that all
Christians are that hateful?

Would
you want to be identified as a Christian, based on those activities? (I’ll
assume the answer is no.) Then why do you assume that all Muslims are
responsible for all the acts of terrorism?
All the senseless killing? The Quran doesn’t teach this kind of behavior
any more than the Bible teaches hatred to Christians. And yet, here we are
launching all kinds of labels on people because of outliers.

To
me, “we will never forget” means that everyone on this planet needs to
understand that we’re all in this together. We need to share the beautiful
place we live with each other. We need to understand that we are different, not
better or worse, but different. That my beliefs are mine and your beliefs are
yours and that we don’t have to agree with each others’ beliefs or opinions.
And we shouldn’t make fun of them. And we shouldn’t impart our own on someone
else.

We
should work to understand each others’ and see if there is common ground on which
we can agree and build a basis for living together. If we can’t, there is really no hope for us
over the long haul.

Maybe
that’s why this gets harder every year, for me.
Because I think there’s no long term hope for us.